Chương 18: Mrs Hunter

The streets lay in darkness, hushed and deserted, until the rumble of an engine rolls in and twin headlights emerge on the horizon. Deejya fires off rapid chatter over the radio.

"In other news local authorities remain perplexed by the animal attacks plaguing Lantern City..." Lily, the stunning driver in her twenties, clicks over to another station. With music blaring from the speakers, she taps the wheel to the rhythm when a soft thud grabs her focus. She presses the brake and eases to a halt in the middle of the road. Switching off the radio, she checks the rearview mirror. The road behind her is empty. Absolutely nothing. Lily cranks up the radio again and floors the gas.

But a sense of dread has started to creep over her. And rightly so, because through the back windshield, two glowing red eyes appear in the darkness behind her. As she bobs her head to the beat, those red eyes surge closer, closing in as if ready to strike. But instead, they vanish into the shadows like lights being switched off. Trees rush past, dense forest lining the car's right side where the red eyes reappear. A dark form keeping pace with the vehicle.

As if sensing she's being watched, Lily glances out the window. Nearly at the same moment, the eyes disappear once more. Her gaze lingers a beat too long. She fails to notice she's barreling toward a red light. Finally looking ahead, she slams the brakes, screeching to a halt.

"Nice, Lily. Nice driving." She cuts the radio, then sits in silence waiting for the light to change. The seconds crawl by. She nervously taps a finger on the wheel, eyes darting around. At last, the light turns green. Lily starts to ease off the brake when a loud thump on the roof startles her. Her eyes shoot upward as she gasps. But no other sound follows as her gaze drifts from the roof to the passenger window, where inky black shapes move among the dark woods.

It's impossible to tell if it's just trees and foliage in the shadows. Or something else... Lily leans toward the passenger window, squinting to see if something's out there while behind her. The driver's side window shatters into the car. She screams as a clawed hand grabs at her from the roof. Digging into her jacket, it drags her up toward the broken window as she fights against it...

"No, no" Her hand reaches behind her seat, fingers fumbling for something as the Alpha tries to pull her out. She finally grabs the object, a Mossberg pistol grip shotgun. She whips it up and pulls the trigger, blowing a hole through the roof of her car. The passenger door of the car swings open. Lily rolls out into a crouched stance, shotgun ready. The move is smooth and swift. She's no ordinary young woman. She's a hunter, but there's nothing on the roof of the car now. No sign of movement.

She spins, shotgun aimed.

"Come on..." She raises the shotgun and fires a shot into the sky.

"COME ON!" Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Crimson remains wide awake beneath the sheets. Restless, she can't drift off, shifting and turning when... BOOM!!!! He jerks upright in bed. The noise resembles a distant thunderclap. He turns toward the window beside his bed and listens. Then, just as he's ready to settle back down... BOOM!!! Now that his ears are sharper, the sound is much clearer. It's the blast of a shotgun.

Crimson scrambles from bed, grabbing the nearest jeans as Lily, with broken glass crunching under her shoes, tosses her shotgun into the trunk of her wrecked car. From a black bag, she takes out a scoped rifle and loads it with rounds from a blue steel case. Then, with the rifle slung over her shoulder, she switches on a maglite. As she sweeps the beam across the pavement, she spots drops of blood. Kate pulls out her phone and begins typing a text.

Bursting out of the hall clutching a dark bag, Ash rushes toward the front entrance.

"What's going on?" Willow suddenly shouted, peering down from the stairs on the second floor.

"Your aunt, Lily, just texted. I'm heading out to pick her up." Ash admitted.

"It's two in the morning. Everything okay?"

"Yeah. She's just having a little car trouble." He said with a sigh.

The wolf sprinted at an incredible pace behind a row of industrial structures. Tight around the corners. Leaping onto a large dumpster. Then up onto the rooftop. Autzee, in human form and the source of the blood, kneels to examine his blood in the loose gravel. A movement draws his attention, a dark silhouette just ahead. The Alpha halts, turning its red eyes toward him. But only briefly. The black shape spins and dashes off. Autzee propels himself up and chases after it.

Gaining momentum, he jumps from the roof's edge across the alley, soaring through the air as... BANG! Gunfire from the alley below sends him crashing onto the gravel, tumbling to a halt. Lily peers through the rifle scope, a smile curling on her lips. She adores this. Headlights appear around the bend. A black SUV pulls up beside her, Ash at the wheel.

"Get in."

"What? No 'Hello, nice to see you?'""Right now, all I have is 'Please put the assault rifle away before someone notices.'""That's the brother I love." Lily says as she walks over to the passenger side to join him. The glow of a streetlight reveals her damaged car. Ash's SUV screeches to a stop. He and she step out.

"I know there are two. And one just attacked me." As they approach her car, their voices shift, words drifting past the road and into the woods...

"One of them will lead us to the other. He can't do that if he's dead."

"And I can't help kill either if one kills me first." Hidden behind the tree, back against it, Crimson uses his enhanced hearing to eavesdrop.

"How long will it take?"

"I'd give him 48 hours. If that." Autzee glides down the exterior of a structure, landing softly on the sidewalk. He rests his back against the bricks, examining the bullet injury on his left arm. It refuses to mend. Yet that's hardly the oddest detail. For what leaks from the injury isn't merely blood. Thin wisps of smoke drift from a wound that radiates an eerie glow. That bullet was far from typical...

Dawn breaks softly. A piercing scream echoes through the house. Yet it's a joyful cry as Willow nearly tackles Lily in a tight embrace. From another room, Ash's voice calls out...

"Willow." She releases Lily, both giggling and overjoyed to be together again. Her belongings are scattered everywhere as she's been unpacking.

"Okay, I haven't seen you in a year and suddenly you're a stunning supermodel? Just look at you. I'm so jealous."

"I haven't even taken a shower yet." Willow admitted.

"You're absolutely gorgeous. I hope guys are fighting over you left and right."

"I might have one."

"You should have a million." Willow hesitated, then asked, "Need a hand unpacking?" Allison reaches for one of the bags, a big black one. But Lily quickly grabs her wrist. It's sudden. Jarring.

"Not that one." She says as Willow pulls her hand away, rubbing her wrist.

"See what I mean? You turned out beautiful, and I ended up with a martial arts death grip. Sorry for being so rough."

"No problem. Is your car okay?" As Lily steps into the guest bathroom, she says, "Yeah. Just needed a jump." Willow looks up with a puzzled expression as the door shuts.